[TaxmanHog]

Went for a longer ride today on the ZX14R, about 130 miles round trip, Took the highway to get the general area of the Scituate Reservoir (RI), keeping RPMs in the area of 4k with a occasional blips above that, got off at RT 7, then onto to begin the scenic loop, RT's 116, 12, 102, 14, stop for coffee in Johnston to warm up, then return to the reservoir for another run the opposite direction, got a feel for the handling on the curves, with the new tires and 40 degree pavement temps I was not pushing it. Handling through the curves was great looking forward to when conditions are better.

When I was doing roll-on's in any gear the power was fantastic 3k to 4.5k, best I think I have ever experienced short of the HD Destroyer, mind you this was ~LOW POWER MODE~ and KTRC-3. I can only imagine what it's like in F-1 or F-0

My impressions, after having riden Harleys for the past 17 years, This thing is going to be a Rocket Ship when I unleash it's full potential.
:crazyloco

 

[EZX]

130 miles is not a long ride.

 

[conn-e-rot ninja]

130 miles is not a long ride.

^^This

 

[185EZ]

Eh, 130 miles is plenty long. I guess it depends on conditions. I went for a 30 mile ride today on the 6. Good enough for me to get out.
What i thought was more odd was the comparison of riding harleys and a 2012 ZX14. Is there a comparison? I would think the 250 ninja would be a "Rocket Ship" to any Harley.:lol

 

[Roomraider]

That's a pretty good ride from where I'm sittin. 28 degrees sunny & clear skies = froze my fingers off 5 miles to & from the supermarket & gas station.

 

[Airmechanical]

if i were you i would not break it in that way

Brock has a few good articles on break in, i suggest you read them

thats if you want that thing running at it's peak

 

[Airmechanical]

here ya go

i have done this with every new vehicle i ever bought

http://www.brocksperformance.com/brocknm/templates/bpp1.aspx?articleid=83&zoneid=11

 

[TaxmanHog]

Thanks for the TIPS AIRMECH, I have seen that article before, know a lot of folks live by it. I have been varying the engine speed, and lot's of cycling of surges & compression braking, I'm going to drop the oil/filter tomorrow and put in some fresh 10-40, and run it for the remainder of the book procedure, I'm sure the worst of the metallic shavings on the tranny gears have been cut. I'll get more aggressive bit still stay away from Redline & WOT until more time is gone by, looking to make this a long term ride not an annual engine rebuild/refresh project.

 

[TaxmanHog]

Eh, 130 miles is plenty long. I guess it depends on conditions. I went for a 30 mile ride today on the 6. Good enough for me to get out.
What i thought was more odd was the comparison of riding harleys and a 2012 ZX14. Is there a comparison? I would think the 250 ninja would be a "Rocket Ship" to any Harley.:lol

:rotflmao

My VROD Destroyer, is in the middle of it's first off season refresh project right now, new 2nd gear, modified shift fork, stronger VH fork/drum shafts, head work, clutch mod's and so on. Subsequent year refreshes it will get tear downs for wear inspection on the tranny, pistons, heads, etc.

A little history about me as to the perspective I come from.

1980 XS11 (In 1980) as an 18 year old wet behind the ears NEWBIE rider, this bike was in it's day a rocket to me as a novice rider.

Hiatus from 84 to 97 (no bikes, low on cash just making ends meet, paying off student loans life style)

1997, HD FXSTS Softail Springer with a Stock 80" Evo, not a power house, but it was the style I was going for rather than moon rocket power/speed. After riding it for about 5 years I had it refreshed with new CAM & 10:1 pistons, gave her a little more kick in the azz, but still stone age, if you all know what I mean.

2005, purchased a used race prepped 2004 VROD with a 4.25 bore 1320 cc, this bike pumped out 140+ HP up to it's 9200 RPM, 2007 & 2008 I learned to drag race formal track racing on this bike initially in Street Fighter style foot & clutch shifting, kind of a challenge with it's cruiser forward pegs, I was running high 12"s & high 11's, the following year add wheelie bar and air shifter system to help get her into the low 11's. From the metric point of view all HD's are stone age, but to be honest, the REVOLUTION VRSC V60 engine is a not our grand fathers HD, it's worlds away different than the Twin Cam's, Evo's, Shovel's and other V45 engines. (I'm not here to sell you Guy's on the bike, but there is a market for them, ironically, the primary customer base are maturing metric riders looking to the HD power cruiser market)

Fall 2010 I purchased a New Unraced, 2006 HD VROD Destroyer, which is a Track only dedicated purpose built Drag Racer, it has a spec 170-HP, In the 2011 race season, I ran it 180 passes, in local bracket racing program as well as several index and bracket program in the AHDRA, I was running high to low 10's all season as I improved on my techniques, with this BAR Bike, air shifter, 2-step. I completed the race season and finally cracked through the 10 second barrier with a Best time: 9.981 @ 135.73 mph.

IN 2012 I anticipate keeping the Destroyer in the 9's, hoping to reach a 9.70 super gas index or ET/Bracket program with NED & AHDRA.

The guys I'm racing with at New England are a mix of 9, 8 & 7 second Kawi's & Busa's, some running NOS or Turbos, along with me on the NA HD, and a couple of Buells & Hondas in the 10's.

In closing, the 2012 ZX14R is an out of the box high 9 second bike if I were to apply my clutch-hand racing skills. What I expect from it is to be a reliable street & possible track ride. That gives me that 60 foot rush to 65 mph kick in the azz.

When I eventually bring it the track, to get some constant sub 10 second runs for the ET or Street Fighter program.

 

[lsantana9541]

I just did one this weekend, 200+ miles one way. Once noticeable difference from the Gen 1 is the seat, this stock seat is soo much more comfortable than the older models. I also was getting around 41mpg at cruising speeds of 70 and the power level set to low.
One thing i did notice, and i miss from my 07, is the lack of a helmet lock.

 

[TaxmanHog]

Loving this mild New England Winter, finally broke thru the 500 mile barrier, 6k rpm's here we come....:crazyloco

 

[audioboyz]

I broke my bike in that way nice and easy.Getting on it a little up to 7 grand once in awhile.And with 5500 miles on it uses no oil and runs great.After beating on alot bikes wanted to treat this one nice.And it hasn't let me down.
Craig

 

[phatphil]

I love Harley's and vtwins, but isnt that Destroyer a dedicated drag bike with a wide slick rear and wheelie bars? 1/4 trap speeds are in the mid 130's. The 14r's trap speeds are in mid 150's. You aren't going to get nearly the same hit to 60 with any street bike setup. But get that thing broken and hold on as that thing will be pulling hard at 130mph and well beyond. I'm not as lucky as you guys on your sweet 14r's but my 14 pulls hard from 5000rpms. I've been riding this thing for 3 years and I'm still amazed how well it pulls from mid range, in any gear. From what I've read, the 14r has an even stronger midrange. For street use, I love the big torque and the ease of modulating forward thrust. The 14r has got to be mind warping. Just wait till ya start twisting the right wrist further. Looking forward to hearing back when ya'll open those 14r's up. Ride safe.

 

[audioboyz]

I can't imagine what they pull like.I know mine pulls very hard tiill it gets to 7500 then it explodes like a 2 stroke of yesteryear.
Craig

 

[TaxmanHog]

I love Harley's and vtwins, but isnt that Destroyer a dedicated drag bike with a wide slick rear and wheelie bars? 1/4 trap speeds are in the mid 130's. .

Yes, that would be a Destroyer, and I've been doing low 10's runs with 135 traps. Some of the lighter racers on modified setups are doing high 8's (8.7 & 8.9's) with traps in the 14x to 15x range. A bar bike's are a whole different situation being able to slam down 60' footers in the 1.3s to 1.4s range.

AHDRA Records

V-ROD
E.T. 9.200 ROBERT PETTIT - BRISTOL, IN ROCKINGHAM DRAGWAY 10-11
MPH 149.72mROBERT PETTIT - BRISTOL, IN WOODBURN DRAGSTRIP 8-11

V-ROD DESTROYER
E.T. 8.768 NICK GONATAS - YOUNGSTOWN, OH ROCKINGHAM DRAGWAY 10-11
MPH 153.68 BRIAN MACALISTER - YORKVILLE, OH WOODBURN DRAGSTRIP 8-11​

The 14r's trap speeds are in mid 150's. You aren't going to get nearly the same hit to 60 with any street bike setup. But get that thing broken and hold on as that thing will be pulling hard at 130mph and well beyond. I'm not as lucky as you guys on your sweet 14r's but my 14 pulls hard from 5000rpms. I've been riding this thing for 3 years and I'm still amazed how well it pulls from mid range, in any gear. From what I've read, the 14r has an even stronger midrange. For street use, I love the big torque and the ease of modulating forward thrust. The 14r has got to be mind warping. Just wait till ya start twisting the right wrist further. Looking forward to hearing back when ya'll open those 14r's up. Ride safe.

Agree the 14r is a beast, I'm very pleased with the performance so far, regardless of the self imposed break in limits, looking forward to the end of snow season and safer road conditions to prevail :mfclap

 

[185EZ]

Agree the 14r is a beast, I'm very pleased with the performance so far, regardless of the self imposed break in limits, looking forward to the end of snow season and safer road conditions to prevail :mfclap

Ohhh, the break in.:angry
I also did mine religiously till the 1000 mile mark. Still haven't red lined it yet. No need to.
not sure why guys need to rush the break in anyway. All personal preferance. The fun thing after the 1000 miles, I felt like i was on a new bike again when I finally opened her up.:crazyloco

 

[phatphil]

Ohhh, the break in.:angry
I also did mine religiously till the 1000 mile mark. Still haven't red lined it yet. No need to.
not sure why guys need to rush the break in anyway. All personal preferance. The fun thing after the 1000 miles, I felt like i was on a new bike again when I finally opened her up.:crazyloco

Most bikes ya break in so you can open er up. With the 14's ya do so you say to yourself inside your full face, "holy fucken god, this thing is fast". I'm going on 4yrs with my 08 and I'm still talking to god! Don't know who you guys are going to be talking to but fack, I can bet you'll be using at least one of these words: fuck, holy, shit, fucken, god, fast.

Funny you say you haven't redlined yet. Cause on the street, you really don't need to. Was on a vfr800 the other day and had the thing bouncing off the rev limiter and I was like, what's with all the shifting? Made me realize just how effortly fast I'm going on the 14. For street use, the strong torque all the way up though revs is awesome. No peakiness or keeping revs up. Just turn right wrist any amount of choosing. No literbike can do that. The 14r is the very best at that. I'm totally happy with what my 14 does. The 14r is over the top. Fricken cool.

 

[iron8]

I've red lined mine a few times but most of the time the torque does all the talking . On my 08 the engine just seems to get better with time . I've got 15k on the clock now and it seems stronger than ever .

 

[TaxmanHog]

600 mile Oil change done last night, not to far from completed breakin.

Today I decided to take the Screaming Eagle 110" Ultra for an over due ride to work, she has been ignored since I've had the ZX14, what a contrast in performance.

The lack of: power, braking, nimble response is appalling, the only thing that I continue to enjoy on that bike are the heated seat storage. Looking forward to selling her to someone more appreciative of it.

 

[Big Bo]

130 miles is not a long ride.

:crackup:crackup